Translanguaging in writing: a bilingual PhD student’s reflection

With a critical narrative approach, this reflective practice research aims to do a personal narrative inquiry on the researcher herself during her dissertation research/writing period. The researcher explores and reflects on her various translanguaging strategies used throughout the course of her dissertation research and writing. Data collection includes her reflective journal entries, interview recordings and transcriptions with her research participants, reflective conversation audio recordings with her peers and research voice memos during her dissertation writing process. Using narrative analysis, this study indicates translanguaging allows the researcher to establish her dual-identities in both U.S. and Chinese educational settings, and helps her to develop her own writer’s voice and also engages her to think more creatively and critically as a researcher and a writer. This study presents a first-person reflective practice that deconstructs bilingual PhD students’ dissertation writing journey. It highlights the significance of bilingual international graduate students’ language repertoire to their academic writing, which matters not only to individual students, but may better serve international student community cross the world.